Two late goals lift Portland Timbers to 2-0 preseason win over Houston Dynamo

Two late goals led the Portland Timbers to a 2-0 victory of the Houston Dynamo in a preseason scrimmage on Wednesday evening at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.

After the clubs were scoreless for the first 80 minutes, the Timbers broke through for the opening goal. Max Urruti collected the ball in midfield and combined with Gaston Fernandez before Will Johnson charged into the penalty area and finished his chance for a 1-0 lead.

Three minute later, the Timbers struck again. With the Dynamo pressing in the attacking half, Portland counterattacked, with Fernandez eventually threading a pass to Urruti, who beat Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric for a 2-0 advantage.

The 90-minute contest was divided into three 30-minute periods. The Dynamo mostly controlled the run of play in the first 60 minutes but couldn’t seize the lead. In the first minute, midfielder Brian Ownby broke down the right wing and into the penalty area, but couldn’t connect with a teammate.

After several corner kicks, the Dynamo gained a free kick 30 yards from goal in the 42nd minute. Midfielder Alex López curled a well-placed delivery near the penalty spot and David Horst won the header but steered it wide of goal.

After 45 minutes, the Dynamo changed nine of 11 players, with Mike Chabala and Tally Hall the only holdovers from the starting group.

Portland began to threaten early in the second half, with Hall forced to make a save on a shot from Frederic Piquionne before denying Kalif Alhassan a minute later.

Houston responded with two chances of its own. First, Tony Cascio slipped his defender and fed Omar Cummings, who fired wide of the near post from 12 yards. Two minutes later, Will Bruin was provider for Cummings, but the Jamaican fired over the bar.

The start of the third period included wholesale changes to the Portland lineup. Urruti was part of the new group and came close to scoring in the 71st minute, firing a shot that hit the far post and bounced out.

A minute before the Portland opener, Deric made a sturdy save on a firm shot from Schillo Tshuma from 20 yards out.

The Dynamo continue their stretch of three preseason scrimmages in Tucson on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT, when they meet the San Jose Earthquakes at Kino Sports Complex. The match will be streamed live at www.HoustonDynamo.com.